Review: Huion Kamvas Pro 16 v2 pen display

Review unit provided by Huion

The Huion Kamvas Pro 16 v2 is the update to the original Huion Kamvas Pro 16 was released in 2019, sold at USD 469 but now is USD 279.

Official retail price is USD 399.

From what I can see, the main and only update is this new pen display now uses the latest Huion PenTech 4.0 which has better sensitivity and accuracy.

Bottom line

The original Huion Kamvas Pro 16 from 2019 already has fantastic drawing performance. Version 2 is just a slight update to PenTech 4 with 16K levels of pressure sensitivity, up from 8K+ levels.

The old design still looks good and functional. The matte glass surface provides subtle tactile drawing experience, and is unlikely to scratch.

Main downside is there are no other upgrades other than the new pen. Display resolution is still 1080P, and there's no support for USB-C video connection. If you need higher resolution or USB-C video, there are other Huion pen displays you can get.

Listed below are the other 16-inch pen displays from Huion:

• Huion Kamvas 16 (gen 3) 2025 - USD 459 (usual price USD 499)
• Huion Kamvas Pro 16 (2.5K) 2022 - USD 479 (usual price USD 599)
• Huion Kamvas Pro 16 (4K) 2021 - USD 599 (usual price USD 899)

Specifications

• Display & Build
  • Screen Size: 15.6 inches
  • Resolution: 1920 × 1080 (Full HD)
  • Panel Type: IPS
  • Color Gamut: 120% sRGB
  • Colors: 16.7 million
  • Viewing Angle: 178°
  • Surface: Anti-glare etched glass
  • Lamination: Full lamination
  • Dimensions: 436 × 247 × 11.5 mm
  • Weight: 1.35 kg
• Pen & Input
  • Pen Model: PW600L (battery-free)
  • Pressure Sensitivity: 16K levels
  • Tilt Support: ±60°
  • Report Rate: >220 PPS
  • Resolution: 5080 LPI
  • Accuracy: ±0.3 mm (center), ±1 mm (corners)
  • Reading Height: 10 mm
• Functionality & Features
  • Express Keys: 6 programmable keys
  • Connectivity: 3-in-1 cable (HDMI, USB, power)
  • Compatibility: Windows, macOS, Linux
  • Orientation Support: Left- and right-handed modes

Things included

• Pen display
• Huion PW600L pen variation with no eraser
• Pen stand with 10x replacement pen nibs inside
• Pen nib remover
• 3-to-1 cable
• Power adapter
• Stickers for the Huion K20 shortcut remote (not included)
• Artist glove
• Cleaning cloth
• Quick start guide

The Huion ST200 folding stand is an optional purchase with original retail price of USD 50.

Design

Design of the pen display looks clean and simple. Build quality is quite solid with the metal back. This is the same functional design as the original Kamvas Pro 16 from 2019.

There are 8 buttons and a touchbar by the side. 6 buttons are customisable hotkeys while the other two are for power and the OSD/touchbar function switch.

The touchbar can be used to adjust settings that work with increments, e.g. brush size, zoom.

The back has two long rubber feet with good grip on the table.

The port only works with the included 3-to-1 cable which uses HDMI for video connection. This pen display does not support USB-C video connection.

One area where this pen display could have been updated is with the 3-to-1 cable. Having a barrel connector for power means you're limited to using Huion's power adapter.

If your computer does not have a USB-A port, you'll need to get a USB-A to USB-C adapter to use with the Huion cable.

The cable connection on the side of the pen display looks secure and durable enough.

Display

The display is a 15.6-inch IPS LCD with 1920 x 1080 resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. This is a comfortable size for drawing. You can have palettes on the left and right and still get a good amount of space leftover for drawing.

This is not a touchscreen.

The matte glass surface provides a subtle tactile drawing experience. The surface is still considered quite smooth though, certainly smoother compared to matte screen protectors.

The matte surface is actually still quite glossy and sharp reflections can still be seen.

The display is laminated so there's almost no gap between the pen and line when drawing.

I measured colour support for 100% sRGB, 81% NTSC, 83% AdobeRGB, 94% P3 and a maximum brightness of 141 nits. Colour accuracy is slightly better than the previous model but the brightness has dropped from 180+ nits to 141 nits.

Driver

The driver I've tested is Mac driver v20.0.1.50.

These are the configurable hotkey actions:

• Keyboard shortcuts
• Mouse button
• Tools: Switch Screen, Switch Brush
• Multimedia
• Show/Hide: Driver Settings, Express Key Functions
• Precision Mode
• Pan/Scroll
• Virtual Keyboard Settings
• Run Program
• Fixed Pressure Sensitivity
• No function

These are the configurable touch bar actions

• 4 functions: Zoom, Rotate Canvas, Brush Size, Scroll
• Custom
• Mouse Button: Includes Ctrl, Opt, Shift
• Multimedia
• Photoshop: Adjust Selected Parameters, Switch Layers, Brush Size, Brush Flow, Brush Opacity, Rotate Canvas
• Lightroom: Adjust Selected Slider
• Premiere Pro: Prev/Next Frame, Adjust Selected Slider, Time Unit Scaling
• Clip Studio Paint: Zoom, Rotate Canvas
• TVPaint Animation: Prev/Next Frame, Adjust Selected Parameters, Switch Layers
• No Function

Mapping for the working area can probably be left as default.

Huion has this new Rectangle Keyboard feature which is actually a virtual keyboard with customisable softkeys.

This is a pop-up box with 24 customisable softkeys. You can show or hide the virtual keyboard with the hotkeys.

This can be used for creating shortcuts that require many key combinations.

Pressure curve can be customised by moving the three control points.

Pen calibration for cursor misalignment is now under the Settings section.

The touchbar function switch is accessed from the last hotkey.

The same hotkey when pressed and held will reveal the OSD menu where you can adjust the colour settings for the display.

Pen

The included pen is the Huion PW600L variation with no eraser. The pen uses PenTech 4 that supports tilt and 16K levels of pressure sensitivity. The Huion PW600S slim pen (not included) should also be compatible with this pen tablet.

There are three customisable side buttons but no eraser. The large silicone grip is has a smooth surface and feels comfortable to hold.

For some reason, Huion has installed one felt tip in the pen but did not provide any felt tip replacements inside the pen holder. I do recommend getting the Huion PN06F felt nibs to test as they are not too expensive, just USD 13 for ten pieces.

Line tests

Line tests below were created with Medibang Paint Pro. I used the felt pen nib for the test.

1. Initial activation force is minimal. Lines can be drawn by applying almost no pressure but if pen tip is in contact you can create a line. There's no noticeable diagonal line wobble or jitter. The felt pen nib seem to draw thicker lines but after adjusting the pressure curve it was easy to draw really thin lines even with a thick brush selected.

2. Strokes can taper smoothly and sharply.

3. Line transition from thin to thick is smooth. Thin lines can still be drawn after thick lines, which is the true test of how sensitive a pen is when detecting minimal changes in pressure. This is also a diagonal line and there's no diagonal line wobble.

4. Consistent line width can be drawn easily by maintaining consistent pressure.

5. Dots can be drawn easily, and react to pressure.

6. Lines can be joined without leaving gaps or overshooting. There's no cursor misalignment or parallax.

Drawing performance is consistent and predictable.

Tilt sensitivity works well. Cursor is able to follow the direction of the pen. You can have darker shading with the Pencil 5 Tilted brush from Krita to face whichever side you want.

Drawing experience

This was drawn with CSP. Workflow was smooth. I did not encounter any issues with the hardware or driver.

This was drawn with Medibang Paint Pro.

The drawing experience is great since the pen performance is fantastic. Although the pen glides quite smoothly on the matte glass, it's not slippery and I can still get good control over the pen. I highly recommend getting the felt pen nib so that the pen tip hitting the display has a dampened sound.

Conclusion

The Huion Kamvas Pro 16 v2 is a beautiful and functional pen display. This is a product for those who want a wonderful drawing experience but don't want to spend more to get Huion's other pricier 16-inch pen displays with more features. And it's good that Huion has an entry level, relatively speaking, pen display at a more affordable price point.

The main downside for me probably is the 141 nits of measured brightness. While it's still very usable in a bright room, it would be nicer to have an even brighter display, especially so since this pen display has to connect to external power anyway.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ Good build quality
+ Design looks good
+ 15.6-inch is a good size for drawing
+ 1080P resolution is sufficient for a 15.6-inch screen
+ Matte surface drawing screen
+ Laminated screen with little to no parallax
+ sRGB colour support is good
+ 10 replacement tips included
+ Pen does not use battery
+ Accurate and sensitive pen
+ Wonderful drawing experience
+ 6 physical shortcut buttons
- Just 141 nits of measured brightness
- Stand sold separately
- No support for USB-C video connection
- No USB-A to USB-C adapter included
- Would be nice if extra felt pen tips are included

Availability

The Huion Kamvas Pro 16 v2 is available for purchase on Huion online store and Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | ES | IT | JP